College notebook: Parshall pitches way into PSU record book
Fifth-year left-handed pitcher Bailey Parshall, a Belle Vernon graduate, recently cemented her place in Penn State softball history when she broke school records in both strikeouts and shutouts while leading the Nittany Lions to a 9-0 run-rule win over Bucknell on April 18.
Parshall’s evening in the circle featured her typical dominance as she tossed her 12th complete game of the 2023 season in addition to her seventh shutout of the year. Parshall pitched five innings, allowing only three hits on 65 total pitches while striking out to reach 750 for her career, passing previous PSU career record holder in Missy Beseres by five strikeouts. Parshall also managed to surpass Jackie Hill’s all-time shutout record, securing the 21st of her storied career.
For the season, Parshall has a 17-9 record and 1.33 ERA. She has struck out 157 batters and walked only 23 in 147 innings. Opponents are batting only .172 against her.
In baseball
Former Chartiers-Houston standout Jimmy Sadler is having a big season for Potomac State.
Sadler is tied for the team lead with 45 hits and has a .338 batting average, which ranks second among Catamounts’ starters. He also has eight doubles, four triples, three home runs and 30 RBI in 42 games. Sadler has stolen a team-high 19 bases.
Included in Sadler’s season is a 16-game hitting streak. He has helped Potomac State to a 28-14 record.
Lefthander Tyler Switalski leads Gardner-Webb’s baseball team in pitching wins.
A sophomore from Waynesburg, Switalski has a 7-3 record and 5.93 ERA. He has struck out 64 batters in 57 2/3 innings. He had a seven-game winning streak.
The best outing of the season by Switalski came April 1 against Radford. He pitched seven shutout innings, allowing only two hits and struck out 10 in Gardner-Webb’s 16-0 win.
Freshman first baseman Wes Parker has been getting playing time at Toledo. A McMurray resident and Peters Township graduate, Parker has played in 19 games with the Rockets and is batting .255 with a double and two home runs. He has 12 RBI on only 14 hits.
Parker has four multi-hit games, including a 3-for-5 performance against Youngstown State.
In softball
Olivia Ulam, a sophomore from Canonsburg, has been swinging a big bat in the middle of the lineup for St. Francis (Pa.).
Ulam, a first baseman, is hitting .252 with six doubles, six home runs and 26 RBI. The latter number ranks second on the team.
The Canon-McMillan graduate had a big three-game stretch in late March when she went 6-for-10 with six RBI, including a two-homer game against Stonehill.
The local area is well-represented on the Point Park roster with senior outfielder Cameron Meier, senior first baseman Alex Bondi and senior shortstop/pitcher Mara Iagnemma.
Bondi, a Venetia resident and Peters Township graduate, is second on the team with a .383 batting average. She has five doubles, two home runs and more walks (11) than strikeouts (9).
Meier, a Trinity graduate, is right behind Bondi as she ranks third on the team in batting average at .362. She also has five doubles and one home run. Meier ranks second with 19 RBI.
Iagnemma, a South Fayette graduate, is batting only .176 but she has a .960 fielding percentage.
Bayleigh McCullough, a sophomore middle infielder from Washington and a Trinity graduate, is batting .283 for Niagara. She recently had a three-hit game against Fordham.
Grace Higgins, a sophomore from Canonsburg and a Canon-McMillan graduate, was named Waynesburg University’s Female Athlete of the Week for April 17-23.
Higgins batted .429 as Waynesburg clinched a spot in the upcoming Presidents’ Athletic Conference tournament. She went 3-for-4 with a double, two runs and three stolen bases against Grove City, and added a hit and walk in a victory over Saint Vincent.
In track and field
William & Mary’s Daniel Layton recently competed in the decathlon at the Duke Invitational. The senior from Waynesburg finished second and scored 5,950 points. Layton’s second day of the event included a personal record in the pole vault (13-9 ¼) and the javelin (126-8), the eighth and ninth disciplines of the decathlon.
Gabe McConville is having a terrific outdoor season for Seton Hill.
A sophomore from Waynesburg, McConville won the 1,500-meter run at the Thiel Tomcat Invitational with a time of 3:54.76, and two weeks later won the same event at Shippensburg’s Paul Kaiser Classic, crossing the finish line in 3:54.31.
McConville opened the outdoor season by winning the 800 meters at the Jim Vargo Invitational hosted by Bellarmine. McConville’s winning time was 1:57.26. His performance helped Seton Hill win the men’s team title.
Kent State redshirt junior Scott Benco won the javelin competition Saturday at the Clark Wood Invitational held in Louisville. Benco, a Waynesburg graduate, had a winning throw of 197-1.
Benco currently has the second-best throw this spring in the Mid-American Conference. He set that April 15 at the Cherry Blossom Invitational at Ohio University when he threw 204-9 to win the event.
Clara Barr of West Alexander had a busy April for Niagara.
A McGuffey graduate, Barr helped Niagara’s 400-meter relay team set a season-best time on April 8 at the University of Buffalo Spring Opener. The four-runner team finished first in 49.65.
Only a freshman, Barr finished third in 100 hurdles (15.54) and seventh in the long jump.
Two weeks later, Barr helped th Purple Eagles’ 400 relay team run a 46.68 to reset its personal best and finish in second place at the University of Buffalo Alumni Invitational. Barr later won her heat of the 100 hurdles in 15.60 and placed second in the long jump with a leap of 17-0 ¼, which is a personal best.
Compiled by Chris Dugan